The English medieval civil war known as The Wars of the Roses has been captivating folks for centuries. Just look at George RR Martin, for instance! He took this epic showdown, sprinkled some dragons, and voilà—A Song of Ice and Fire was born. And let’s be honest, you love a medieval throwdown, don’t you?
Well, of course you do you nerd. You’re here, aren’t you?
Over the years, Queens Podcast has covered a lot of these ladies. So we wanted to give you one place to find all of those episodes and a little TL;DR why you may want to get to know each one of these queens (and duchesses…) a little bit more.
Jacquetta of Luxembourg
Jacquetta was born around 1415 into the noble House of Luxembourg. When she was just a teenager, she married John of Lancaster, the Duke of Bedford. She was a teenager. He was an old man. Gross. I hate it here. Let’s move on.
After the Duke passed away, Jacquetta found herself a very wealthy, young widow. Jacquetta didn’t waste any time. She secretly married Richard Woodville, a mere knight, for love. Gasp! This was a huge scandal, but the couple worked hard and eventually re-entered the good graces of the baby king, Henry VI of England.
Jacquetta and Richard had FOURTEEN children and none of them shied away from scandal either. Jacquetta’s life was full of scandal (like a witchcraft accusation), war, execution, love and so much more. We hope you enjoy her story!
Margret of Anjou
This episode is not necessarily a Queens Podcast 101 episode. Some prerequisites might enhance your listening experience. For instance, her grandmother Yolande of Aragon was an endlessly fascinating lady and the previously mentioned Jacquetta of Luxembourg was a cousin of Margaret’s! Margaret was the Queen of England via marriage to her husband Henry VI.
Margaret was the Queen of England via marriage to her husband Henry VI.
Here at Queens Podcast we might call him something like Poor Baby Henry #PoorBabyHenry. He was just not cut out for the job at hand.
It was due to her husband’s ineffective reign and his severe mental health issues that the country fell into unrest. Thus beginning the Wars of the Roses. And Margaret was not about to take that 💩 sitting down
Margaret Beaufort
Maggie B! We have talked about her A LOT on this website and this podcast. Check out her full blog post here. Margaret Beaufort was born May 1443 in England. She was a descendant of John of Gaunt and Queens podcast alumni, Katherine Swynford. What does that mean? She was indirectly very, very close to the throne herself.
At age 12, Margaret Beaufort was sent away to be a wife to fellow noble, Edmund Tudor.
She was 12. He was 25. 🤢 #ihateithere
Margaret had a son, Henry, at only age 13.
After the Wars of the Roses kicked off, Maggie found herself a widow, a very young mother and also on the losing side.
But Margaret didn’t let that stop her. She would go on to become Mother of the King.
Wait… how’d she get from point A to point B? Tune in to learn more!
Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville was born a scandal. Her mother, the previously mentioned Jacquetta of Luxembourg, was a dowager duchess who dared to marry a nobody knight for love. And Elizabeth was the proof of that love and forced them to go public. And just like her mother, Elizabeth had her own scandalous marriage when she nabbed herself the king of England.
Edward VI was not only on the other side of the Wars of the Roses, but he was meant to marry a foreign princess to get that sweet, sweet royal dowry. So, when it came to light that actually he had secretly married a commoner widow… it was this whole thing.
This episode has everything. We think you’ll love it!
Elizabeth of York
Jane Shore
